“Documented” Film Screening

When his grandparents brought him from the United States from the Philippines as a child, Jose Antonio Vargas didn’t realize his life was supposed to be a quiet one, lived under the radar. But after growing up to become a successful journalist, Vargas took the unusual and risky step of revealing his own undocumented status in an essay for The New York Times Magazine in 2011.  He then made a documentary that not only told his own story but explored the issue of children like him who were illegally brought to the United States.

That movie, “Documented,” will be shown at a free public event on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Lewiston Public Library’s Callahan Hall. The film screening, co-sponsored by the Lewiston Public Library and Youth Journalism International, will be followed by a discussion and refreshments.

“This compelling movie is about the life of one journalist who wants to tell the truth about himself, but it also addresses the widespread issue of young undocumented Americans,” said Jackie Majerus, executive director of Youth Journalism International, an educational non-profit based in Lewiston-Auburn. “We’re excited to be working with the library and hope the community will come and hear this story for themselves.”

Vargas, who is still grappling with his undocumented status and hasn’t seen his mother since he left the Philippines at age 12, recently had a new book published on immigration, Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen.

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Youth Journalism International works with student writers, artists and photographers worldwide and here in Maine. The nonprofit organization teaches journalism, connects young people around the globe, fosters cross-cultural understanding and promotes and defends a free youth press.

For more information about the film event or YJI, please contact Jackie Majerus at jmajerus@youthjournalism.org or call 207-241-2607.